Inspector charged with causing hurt

KLANG: Some 40 policemen of various ranks gathered at the Klang magistrate’s court in support of one of their colleagues, who was charged with causing hurt.

Insp T. Mohaneswaran was charged under Section 330 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt to a detainee, who was under police remand.

Insp Mohaneswaran, 31, who is with the Klang South police station, claimed trial for allegedly causing hurt to S. Balamurugan, 44, at the Bandar Baru Klang police station on Feb 6 this year, between 7pm and 9.15pm.

According to the charge sheet, he caused hurt to Balamurugan with the intent to forcefully extort a confession for an armed robbery case.

Balamurugan, who was arrested with three other men on Feb 6, died in custody the following day.

A first post-mortem was conducted at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital Klang while a second, on his family’s insistence, was carried out at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

In the initial report, pathologist Dr Kartini Md Ariff said Balamurugan might have died due to a heart attack.

But Forensic Medicine consultant at HKL Dr Siew Sheue Feng opined that Balamurugan had 20 injuries on his body, caused by blunt object trauma, inflicted with the intention to cause pain.

With the court’s consent in the presence of his lawyer, Insp Mohaneswaran told magistrate Rozianti Mohamed Hanaphi that he was a bachelor and only had RM2,000 in his savings.

He then pleaded for a lower bail. Rozianti set bail at RM1,200 and fixed Nov 16 for the case to be mentioned.